site.btaSubsidies for Political Parties Remain Unchanged

126 - POLITICS - BUDGET - PARLIAMENT

Subsidies for Political
Parties Remain
Unchanged


Sofia, November 29 (BTA) - The annual state subsidy for political parties will remain unchanged at 11 leva. This was voted without debate in Parliament Thursday as it continued the voting on the state budget for 2019.

This was decided contrary to growing support for lowering the subsidy.

Parliament also resolved that the fiscal reserve will be a minimum of 4.5 billion leva as of December 31, 2019, and the government debt may not exceed 22.2 billion leva. The maximum amount of new government debt was set at 1 billion leva.

The money for winding up the Ministry for the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the (which was in the first half of 2018) is included in the central government budget and shall be made available by a government act on a proposal from the Prime Minister.

The MPs voted to set the monthly assistance to a family of one child at 40 leva, of two children at 90 leva and for twins at 75 leva.

The one-off benefit for birth of a child remains unchanged at 250 leva for first child, 600 leva for second child and 300 leva for third child. The one-off benefit for twins is 1,200 leva for each child.

There was much debate after the Socialists moved for raising the one-off benefit for birth of first, second and third child (in a family of working parents) to 6,400 leva for each child. The motion was defeated by the majority on 67-55 votes and 26 abstentions.

In the transitional and final provisions of the budget act, Parliament resolved that an upfront concession royalty from the future concession for Sofia Airport will not go the State Fund for Guaranteeing the Sustainability of the State Pension System.

The Movement for Rights and Freedoms proposed that the concession royalty go for the troubled Bulgarian State Railway and the National Company for Railway Infrastructure but the idea was not supported by the majority. LN/LY/
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